1977 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 GL

[VW]

Nice

Ive never had any luck getting membrane to stick to silicone long term. Always comes off.
It will stick to the door lovely though.
Might be worth checking them in a few months or so.

[shielsy68]

lovely lovely job

[sleag40]

Jul 19, 2016 19:29:14 GMT VW said:

Nice

Ive never had any luck getting membrane to stick to silicone long term. Always comes off.
It will stick to the door lovely though.
Might be worth checking them in a few months or so.

I've just found out something called "Plumbers Mait" is the stuff to use - if they come unstuck, I'll give that a go.

Jul 19, 2016 21:40:20 GMT shielsy68 said:

lovely lovely job

Thank you very kindly!

I gave the rear panel a bit of satin black paint this afternoon. The area to be painted was scotched, then panel wiped, then hit with the black stuff.



I unmasked it while the paint was still soft.



Once the paint has hardened, I can put the lights, trims and letters back on.

[sleag40]

Rear end starting to look like a Cavalier again.



I'm told there's a good chance my boot lid will be painted at the weekend - that would be nice!

[sleag40]

I found a new radiator for very little money on eBay - a lot easier than trying to smarten up the old one.



It's identical in every respect other than cosmetically!

It was soon in position, complete with a shiny new cap..





Unfortunately I'm still awaiting the completion of spring compressor version 2, but she'll be run up as soon as all four wheels are on.

[sleag40]

I trial fitted the wing against the new door - it fits perfectly! I wasn't expecting that!



Got a call to say the second spring compressor was ready, so I went straight over to fetch it. It's a lot better now, but still took a little trial and error to get it right - it doesn't matter now though, its in!



Theres a couple of bits of touching up to do from when the first compressor broke, but it's no biggie! I had to leave as soon as it was all bolted up, but it will definitely be back on its wheels tomorrow. Oh, the bonnet and boot lid have been painted too!

[sleag40]

After a ridiculously early start, I finally got back on with this. Back on four wheels for the first time this year. 



Boot lid now in paint



Carpets back in



Fuel is next on the list.

[cavboy80]

Good progress is being carried on, is the carpet getting a deep clean before the seats go in? It'll make it far easier to do it now.

[sleag40]

Jul 24, 2016 18:50:21 GMT cavboy80 said:

Good progress is being carried on, is the carpet getting a deep clean before the seats go in? It'll make it far easier to do it now.

Cheers! The carpet will get a decent clean before the seats go in. They'll be coming out again when I get the seats re-covered though. I'm gonna try re-dyeing them, as the sun has bleached parts of them in a similar way to the tops of the seats.


Fitted the front shocks late morning, not so bouncy any more!



Back on the car this afternoon, petrol in hand - it was time to get her started. Oil went in, new battery fitted, and water in the radiator (in case of any leaks!). I turned the key and......lots of clicking and occasional slow turning of the engine. The battery is new, so it could only have been a bad earth or a dead starter motor. The bell housing to chassis leg earth strap wasn't very tight, so I tightened it up, and now the motor cranked over nicely. The fuel pump at the front of the engine is gravity fed from the tank, but the fuel line runs up the chassis leg before it drops down to the pump. I only put 5 litres of fuel in, so I needed to make sure it was reaching the pump - it wasn't. A clear plastic tube was inserted into the end of the fuel line, and I syphoned it through, it didn't need much help - now we were in business! After 5 seconds or so of cranking, she burst into life, and with a couple of tweaks of idle + mixture adjustment screws, settled down to a nice even tickover. Belter!
I left it running with the heater on for half an hour or so to bleed the air out, the thermostat was working nicely, and best of all - no leaks of either water or oil.





Flushed with success, I fitted the anti roll bar next. It was something of a faff, but I got there in the end. Another one of those jobs that would have been a lot easier with an extra hand!





^^^ Here you can clearly see the curve the spring needs which made the spring compressor so difficult to get right.

All in all, a good day!

[shielsy68]

best resto for me on here

[cavboy80]

Brilliant to know that she lives, i can sympathise with you regarding doing the ARB. That is one hell of a pig to do, when i did mine it took me and a mate a fair bit of effort, and swearing to refit.
Also the carpets will look a treat dyed, the same mate redid his Dolomite carpets and they look absolutely mint.

[sleag40]

Jul 25, 2016 16:26:11 GMT cavboy80 said:

Brilliant to know that she lives, i can sympathise with you regarding doing the ARB. That is one hell of a pig to do, when i did mine it took me and a mate a fair bit of effort, and swearing to refit.
Also the carpets will look a treat dyed, the same mate redid his Dolomite carpets and they look absolutely mint.

Having three hands would have been useful, but there wasn't anyone around!

Not a lot to show you today, my time was spent doing up all the front suspension bolts with the weight on the wheels. New split pins were fitted to the steering arm ball joints and the chassis to cross member nuts. After a bit of gassing, I was given my freshly painted bonnet back, so I'll probably fit that and the boot lid next. After that, once the braking system has been filled and bled, I can fit the wings, then it can have its flat and polish.

[andy-v]

great read and great resto

[cavboy80]

Jul 24, 2016 20:32:56 GMT sleag40 said:

Snap !! sorry to do a thread hijack

When i refurbed the bay in mine a couple of years back i discovered that the engine mounts were suppose to be blue. Vauxhall Pale Blue (a 70s colour) was an identical match. The drop links, rack gaitors, and track rod ends were replaced in this area as it was easier access now than when together .

[sleag40]

My engine mounts were black, maybe early ones were black and late ones blue?

[sleag40]

Jul 24, 2016 21:42:35 GMT shielsy68 said:

best resto for me on here

Many thanks!

Jul 25, 2016 20:17:59 GMT andy-v said:

great read and great resto

Cheers! Glad you enjoyed the read.

More stuff that can't be seen today - first all the rear suspension bolts were done up tight. Next all the brake pipe unions were checked for tightness ready to fill the system, then the boot lid went on.



Before I left, I made sure I could remember how the jack/wheel brace/spare wheel are fitted.



I need to hijack another pair of hands to fit the bonnet - maybe tomorrow!

[sleag40]

Not a lot to report today, time was short. Filled the gearbox with oil, then had a go at the brakes. The fronts filled nicely under gravity, but nothing at all made it to the rears. Gonna try an easy bleed set up next - or a helper!
Being very careful not to get any on the new paint -

[cavboy80]

Silicone fluid would have been better and seeing as you had replaced the lines this would have been an ideal chance. It can be spilt on the paint and makes no difference plus it won't degrade and therefore never needs changing. That in turn also means it won't attack any of the rubber seals or hoses.

[sleag40]

Jul 27, 2016 21:13:38 GMT cavboy80 said:

Silicone fluid would have been better and seeing as you had replaced the lines this would have been an ideal chance. It can be spilt on the paint and makes no difference plus it won't degrade and therefore never needs changing. That in turn also means it won't attack any of the rubber seals or hoses.

If every line and component had been replaced, I'd have used it, but I only replaced the lines that were damaged. The compensator valve and the rear cylinders are the originals too.

[sleag40]

We now have a brake pedal! I've not found any leaks, but I'll give the pedal a good mashing, then check for leaks again before I consider it job done.
A new bonnet stay clip arrived today, thanks to Keith at VauxhallGreenParts. I'd forgotten that the original one had disintegrated when the car was stripped, but luckily he had one left.



I couldn't resist cleaning the dust off the car -





I'll probably have to clean it again when it goes over for polishing, but hopefully that will be done soon - just need to fit the bonnet and wings now.